Personal Income Tax Preparation

Delinquent Returns
Unfiled Returns
Income Tax Return Preparation

A large part of my practice is helping clients who have not filed an income tax return for many years and need help with personal income tax preparation. Non filer cases involve more than filling out forms. They may also include minimizing criminal exposure, completing accounting work for businesses, getting the client into compliance on an ongoing basis, and working out long term plans for satisfaction of amounts due.

Not filing an income tax return is a serious problem: it is a crime and you can go to jail for it. Care needs to be taken in preparing delinquent returns because we do not want to compound the criminal problems by taking overly aggressive positions on the return. When no return has been filed, there is a five year statute of limitations on the bringing of a criminal prosecution; however, there is no statute of limitations on the civil liability associated with an unfiled return. In cases where little tax has been paid, there are often large liabilities. There are solutions to the liability problems, but the critical first step is to work through the federal and state income tax returns to determine the extent of the problem. I prepare returns and work through all the related problems.

In many cases the IRS will have assessed taxes based on returns that it has made up (“substitutes for returns”). These returns are seldom accurate and the amounts claimed can often be reduced by preparing accurate returns and getting them processed.